Productivity Rises...But So Does Unemployment

In an ideal world, increases in productivity (or, the measure of employee output per hour) will lead to higher corporate profits. Some of that extra money can then be used to hire more workers. When more people are employed, there are more people that can spend money. And everyone lives happily ever after.

BusinessWeek'sPeter Coy suggests recent productivity gains could be somewhat artificial since lay-off survivors have had to work harder than ever. In other words, productivity has risen because unemployment has also gone up and there are fewer employees left to handle all the work.

From your own experience working through this recession, do you agree with Coy's assessment? And do you think your company's productivity gains could be undermined by employee burnout? Please share your thoughts below.

Stefan Deeran helps environmental nonprofits and green businesses develop and execute their new media campaigns. He also publishes The Exception magazine, a nonpartisan news platform serving his home state of Maine. You can follow him on Twitter
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